My first car accident

Well, I think my first car accident was when the rear wheel of my mother's Proton Saga rolled out of it socket right in the middle of Serdang Raya about 3 years ago. It was pretty scary but I survived the incident without a scratch. This is my first accident with my own car anyway. While I was waiting for Linda who's buying some groceries last night, some Chinese dude reversed straight into my car. This is what happened to the left door on the passenger’s side.

Fortunately that guy did the right thing and own up for his mess. At first he offered to pay me RM200 for the door. Even though I never had any experience with dented cars before, I knew by instinct that 200 ringgit is definitely not enough for the repair. So I called up my dad and he said for a metallic paint, it’s around 1000 bucks. Upon hearing that, I demanded that the guy pay up more but obviously he refused. Said he could get a workshop to do it for a lot less.

I was feeling uneasy by then. So I called my brother in law Zaidi who worked as a JPJ officer. He quickly checked the guy’s license late and came up with all his details like name, address, i.c number etc. Zaidi suggested that I scare him a little by telling him what he can do to his Kejara points so that he would pay up for the damage. I being the nice guy, opted to discuss it peacefully with Khim instead (that’s the Chinese guy’s name). So we agreed to meet up to a workshop nearby tomorrow to get my car fixed. He gave me his phone number and he swiftly drove away.

Upon getting home, Linda was all worried that we might be tricked by that Khim guy and said we should have made a police report in the first place. I thought if we do that then the deal’s off and Khim will definitely get penalized by at least 300 ringgit. I was indeed worried thinking he might give us the slip so I gave Linda’s dad a call (who happened to be a police officer). He said we ought to make a report if Khim doesn’t really show up the next day. It’s okay to delay the report as long as it’s not more than 24 hours. Of course I give Linda’s dad all his details in case he decided to mess with us so that Abah can come here an nab that guy :) I felt really thankful that we got Abah and Zaidi on our side. If that guy tries anything funny, he’ll incur the wrath of one police officer and another JPJ officer!

Linda was close to tears throughout the whole ordeal. She seldom came across such confrontation so she understandably upset. Furthermore she has every right to feel sad since the car’s barely 4 months old and already somebody left a huge dent on it. Adam was oblivious with the whole incident and just gets on doing his things. I was worried of course but decided to keep my cool. Remember the 90/10 principal? Sheet do happen and it’s how you react to it that’s important. I mean I can whine on and on about my bad luck or I can carry on with life.

So early in the morning I gave Khim and call and we agreed to meet up at eleven. I had half expected him to switch off his phone and have a good laugh at us but fortunately he didn’t. He did showed up at eleven, showed me to the workshop and even gave me a lift home. He explained his rear window was foggy last night and he couldn’t see a thing before accidentally reversing into my car. He also said he’s just glad he bumped into a car and not a person. So I called office asking for an Emergency Leave which were duly granted. My thanks to Abang Din and Bujal for being so understanding sporting, I owe you guys one.

The accident gives us some valuable lessons. First of all, be really careful and alert when parking behind somebody else’s car. You’ll never know he might suddenly reverse into you. Also try to get as much info as possible on the other party whenever you're involved with similar incidents. Last night I just got his phone number which is definitely not enough. He could always throw away his sim card, made a police report first and claim us responsible instead. Lastly when you’re in doubt, always ask another opinion. Khim almost got away with just 200 bucks last night if I haven’t made that call to dad and Zaidi. It’s a good idea to ask someone else when you're not sure.

I know this must be a test from God. We’ve been truly blessed by Him lately so now he’s testing us. Even so we felt really fortunate in so many ways. We were fortunate that our family stood by us and gave us all the support we need. We were fortunate that Khim is an honest guy and not some Along-like gangster who’d cause us so much more trouble. We’re fortunate that it’s only a slight dent on our door and nothing serious like bodily harm or anything. It could have been worst you know.

Now I know why it is important that we get along well with our relatives cause you’ll never know when you’ll need their help. I’m glad that it all ends well. Alhamdulillah.